Winter, it seems, is a time of year many of which many of us would rather sped by, transporting us forward to longer days and balmier weather. I, too, prefer warmer days and later sunsets, but lately I’ve been trying to, ‘bloom where I am planted,’ as my mother would say, and take in the grace of winter.

We’ve had a lot of snow in Stockholm lately, and I’ve walking to work and back as it’s just too treacherous for me to brave biking at the moment. The walk takes me a little more than twice as long as biking would, which gives me a good amount of time to gear up for and settle down from my day at the office. It’s also given me ample time to listen to podcasts – 40 minutes each way – something I don’t do on my bike as I need to be considerably more attuned to the traffic around me.

The Savage Lovecast (I learn so much about relationships from this one. Lots o’ sex talk, so beware if that’s not your thing.)

The Joy the Baker Podcast (silly, fun, inspiring)

The Art of Simple Podcast (am forever learning interesting things)

Serial (dyyyying for the 2nd season of this one!)

This American Life (so many amazing stories)

Radio Lab (very cool sciency stuff)

Spilled Milk (by Molly of Orangette – fun explorations of food)

Invisibilia (this one is new, but so far really good)

Dear Sugar (love me some Cheryl Strayed! Also not for kids…)

What are y’all listening to these days? Any favourites?

When the snow clears up and I get back on my bike I’ll miss this time. I’m already brainstorming ways to get more walking and other podcast friendly fitness into my day once that happens.

Citrus fruit is, I think, another one of winter’s graces. It comes along at what some might say is the bleakest time of year, bright in colour and flavour both, and with substantial zing to it. Although in this globalized world we can find citrus pretty much all year round, blood oranges make a fleeting appearance at this time of year, and it’s well worth scooping them up while you can.

In the summer I posted a balmy breakfast salad, so I thought that the winter called for one with slightly more oomph. I’ve added quinoa, walnuts, and avocado, all of which help make this salad into a meal, adding a complex carbohydrates, protein, and healthy fats.

The blood oranges and grapefruit are segmented over a bowl to catch the juices, which then becomes the only dressing this salad needs. Other than cooking the quinoa – which can be done far in advance – it’s a simple matter of slicing and tossing to get a delicious, light, yet satisfying winter breakfast salad on your table.

PS – if you’re wondering how to go about segmenting your citrus fruit, this is how.

Winter citrus is an excellent source of vitamin C. It is also a great source of carotenoids; a pre-curser to vitamin A. Dietary fiber, potassium, and vitamin B1 round out this nutritional powerhouse. Ruby red, pink grapefruits, and blood oranges also contain lycopene (good for your prostates, fellas!). They also contain pectin, which is a form of soluble fiber that has been shown to slow down the development of atherosclerosis and reduce blood levels of LDL (bad) cholesterol.

winter citrus breakfast salad with quinoa and toasted walnuts

Tangy grapefruit and blood oranges are paired with peppery arugula, tiny pearls of quinoa, creamy avocado, and crunchy walnuts for an easy, healthy, and delicious breakfast salad. Serves 2 as a main, 4 as a side.

Course Breakfast, Salad

Prep Time15minutes

Total Time15minutes

Servings2-4

AuthorThe Muffin Myth

Ingredients

1cupcooked and cooled quinoafrom 1/2 cup uncooked

2medium blood oranges

1red grapefruit

1avocado

50gabout 2 cups arugula, washed and dried

1/4cupchopped walnuts

1/4cuptorn mint leaves

Instructions

Start by cooking the quinoa if it hasn't been cooked already. Place 1/2 cup quinoa in a small pot with 3/4 cup cold water and a pinch of salt. Bring to the boil, then reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes. Fluff the quinoa with a fork and spread it out on a plate to cool quickly if necessary.

Using a sharp knife, slice the ends from the citrus fruit, then slice down the sides to completely remove the peel and any pith.

Segment the citrus over a large bowl to catch the juices (this will become the dressing) and drop the segments into the same bowl.

Add the quinoa to the bowl - it will soak up a bit of the liquid - then add the arugula and toss well.

Chop the avocado into bite-sized chunks and toss with the citrusy salad.

Spread the salad onto a plate or serving platter, and scatter with walnuts and mint leaves.

Comments

I am one of those crazy (my family says) people who loves a good breakfast salad. Lately I’ve been blending my salads into smoothies, but these gorgeous pictures are making me crave a crunchy, chewy salad. This is beautiful Katie!

I had some of this breakfast salad leftover a couple of days after taking these photos so I threw it into my morning smoothie! I’m mostly a smoothie girl in the morning, but our digestive systems need to work so sometimes I like to switch things up with a breakfast salad.

I absolutely love blood oranges and grapefruit! This salad sounds like a perfect way to eat them both. I’m sending this recipe to my mom – she’s always hosting these family brunches where she serves fruity quinoa salads. I’ll be going to one in a few weeks, so I’m gonna get her to make this for me. 🙂

Wow…that’s some good “you” time. I’d love to be able to at least walk home from work, but it would take me like 2 hours. I love listening to “This American Life”; it’s one of my favorite podcasts along with “The Moth”. I need to check out “Joy the Baker”; sounds like a good one! And this salad sounds soooo good. Pinning so I can give it a try 🙂

Hi Rachel, if you don’t like the avocado you could simply leave it out, or you could add some extra nuts. You could also try adding a bit of cheese like feta or halloumi alongside. Let me know what you end up doing!

i’m a bit late to this recipe, so i hope you’re still responding to comments. i can’t eat grapefruit; what’s a good substitute? or just more blood oranges? would pomella work? and if i can’t find blood oranges, would just regular oranges do? thanks for a great recipe!!

Just made a version of this yesterday & it was wonderful! No blood oranges to be found, so navels had to do. And my mint is not up yet, so had to forego the fresh in favour of dried, but it will be better from my garden. No walnuts on hand, but plenty of toasted almonds. All the substitutions still worked to make this a light & refreshing accompaniment to some baked salmon. Yummmmmm!! The use of arugula was perfect. Next time I will have it for breakfast :). Thanks, Katie.

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Welcome to Hey, Nutrition Lady! - a vegetarian food blog focused on healthy food for busy people. I believe in a real life, fad-free approach to nutrition, and draw on my background as nutritionist to help people know what they're eating. I hope you like it here! Katie Trant - BSc FNH, MSc Nutrition